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Novo plans to hit $23B in revenue by 2035, has further reduced its workforce by 4,000 and is boosting manufacturing capacity for its Wegovy pill, but investors are unconvinced it will be enough to turn things around; Viking Therapeutics and Roche report positive results for their weight loss assets; Ultragenyx snags FDA approval for its Sanfilippo syndrome gene therapy; IPOs keep on coming.
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With a trillion-dollar market cap and a wildly successful GLP-1 portfolio, Eli Lilly isn’t resting on its laurels. At the Psych Congress 2026, the company presented early-stage data that could support the potential of its next-gen GLP-1 and GIP receptor agonist to treat diseases far beyond obesity.
Novo CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar disclosed an additional 4,000 staff departures, which a spokesperson told BioSpace are linked to attrition and other measures.
As Big Pharma adds AI technology to bolster drug development, a cadre of new, upstart biotechs are pushing drug discovery to new heights.
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Big Pharma needs more—not fewer—bold bets on rare and difficult diseases after Novartis’ efforts to invest in muscular dystrophy and ALS hit major roadblocks this month.
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Viking Therapeutics’ VK2735 met Truist’s “best-case scenario,” with robust weight loss that was largely maintained when patients transitioned to less frequent dosing. Viking’s stock popped more than 30% on Tuesday.
While Vertex is laser-focused on an upcoming FDA decision for povetacicept in immunoglobulin A nephropathy, the APOL1 inhibitor inaxaplin has demonstrated potential “best-in-class” data in a different kidney disease.
With sales of the oral GLP-1 medicine rising quickly, executives reassured investors that Novo has secured production capacity to support continued growth.
With more than 25 companies debuting on the public markets, 2026 has recorded the highest number of biotech IPOs since 2021. Now, four companies—including Iambic Therapeutics and ADARx Pharmaceuticals—are looking to grow this total even further.
The mid-stage readout is one link in a chain of catalysts that analysts were watching for this year from Roche’s metabolic pipeline, which features assets from the $2.7 billion acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics as well as partner Zealand Pharma.
Envisagenics’ platform makes use of AI to screen and detect cancer-specific RNA alterations, which Boehringer Ingelheim wants to target through various precision treatment modalities, including multi-specific antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates and T cell engagers.
Deals for Chinese radiopharmaceutical assets have been rare to date and there is a limited pool of potential Western buyers available, Sleuth said.
Novo has “gone shopping” to fill pipeline gaps, with a focus on obesity and diabetes, plus an expansion in blood and endocrine disorders, liver diseases and cardiovascular conditions.
Aside from its manufacturing and distribution footprint, ITM Isotope Technologies Munich will give Telix Pharmaceuticals the late-stage ITM-11, being developed for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. The asset was rejected by the FDA last month for manufacturing concerns.
Investors and analysts have been hounding Novo to beef up its pipeline and advance new molecules as a majority of the company’s sales stem from its semaglutide franchise.